Mirage
by tacit-ronin
Summary: NO SPOILERS. Thomas wins a trip on a luxurious cruise ship. On board, he meets Newt. Soon, chaos ensues and things are not as peaceful as they seem. (Thomas/Newt) AU
1. Chapter 1

Thomas shielded his eyes from the sun as he got out of the taxi. It was a warm day in June and New York was bustling like always. Those early days of summer were his favourite time of the year. Everything still had that fresh shade of green before the heat in August would give the whole city a dusty look.

Thomas looked up at the towering vessel on the pier. It was massive and reminded him more of a swimming city than a ship. "Woah, look at this thing! It's huge!" he called out to his travel partner and best friend Teresa who just got out of the taxi, packed with bags like a mule.

Teresa's face was mostly hidden by a ridiculously big sunhat and a pair of sunglasses that reminded Thomas of a fly. She marvelled at the ship and agreed with him.

"That really is a massive ship. It looks beautiful. Come on, let's get on board and check out our cabin. I hope it has a balcony!" She dragged Thomas along the quay towards the big check-in building and chattered happily. Thomas was glad to have her as a friend.

A few weeks earlier, he had won a 30 day luxury cruise for two on the biggest cruise ship of the world: The Mirage of the Seas. He had hardly believed his luck and asked his best friend Teresa if she wanted to come. Since their semester at university would not start before late August, it was a perfect opportunity. Naturally, she had agreed and not talked about anything else for the last three weeks.

And Thomas had been pretty excited himself. He had never been on a ship in his life and could hardly believe his luck. He knew that he would never be able to afford only a single night on that ship. Going to university assured that your wallet was always empty.

Teresa bounced up and down impatiently as they reached the queue of people waiting to check-in and board the vessel. Thomas looked at her bags again.

"Two suitcases and three handbags?! Are you sure you brought enough dresses and shoes?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow, then looked at the single small suitcase he had brought. Teresa looked at him as if he had just asked her the most ridiculous question in the world.

"We will be on the ship for four weeks, Tom," she stated matter-of-factly, "and this place will be full of rich people in expensive outfits. I don't want to be seen wearing the same dress twice."

"Alright, alright!" Thomas threw up his hands in defence and laughed, "people will just have to deal with seeing me in the same t-shirt twice… or three times. I mean, they do have laundry services on there, right…?"

Fifteen minutes later, Teresa and Thomas were on their way to their cabin. The lottery price was one trip in a double cabin, so they would have to share a bed. But since he and Teresa and been best friends since they were little kids, neither of them had a problem with that. They had often slept at each other's houses and despite their parents' secret wishes and not-so-secret teasing, never felt like dating would be an option for them in the first place. Teresa had decided to leave her luggage at the check-in and have it brought up by the room service later.

"This is it." Thomas stopped in front of a blue door with the number 808. "They really didn't exaggerate when they said 'luxury cruise'… wow!" Thomas exclaimed when he swung open the door to reveal a spacious cabin with a massive bed, a big TV, a secluded dining area and a balcony. Teresa rushed past him with a delighted squeal and was out on the balcony within seconds.

"We're really high up. Look at the view, Tom!" It was a beautiful view indeed.

"These will be the most relaxing weeks of my life," Thomas sighed happily as he leaned on the ship's rail.

After all of their luggage had arrived and been stowed away safely, Thomas and Teresa decided to take a walk and discover what the gigantic Mirage of the Seas had to offer. As they found out, the ship not only had several swimming pools, water slides, theatres, cinemas, restaurants and bars, it also had a casino, a nightclub, a spa area, a mall and sports courts.

Like little kids in a candy shop, they admired everything and couldn't decide what they wanted to try first. Thankfully, they had been given several hundred dollars' worth of vouchers for entertainment of food along with their tickets, or they would definitely be broke by the end of the trip, Thomas thought.

In the end, they settled for a cocktail at one of the bars at the very top of the ship with a perfect view of New York City for their departure. With a colourful cocktail in his hand, Thomas felt relaxed and happy. He watched as people gathered on the deck as the ship roared to life. Waving and whistling, they said good bye to Manhattan and left behind the crowded streets.

"I am so happy you asked me to come," Teresa said with a smile. "You're really the best friend!"

"You would have killed me if I had asked anyone else," Thomas joked and laughed as Teresa clutched her chest in mock pain and gasped.

"What kind of monster do you think I am?!" she chuckled and took a sip from her drink.

"Excuse me, can we sit down here?" someone behind Thomas asked politely with a British accent.

"Sure, take a seat," Thomas replied and turned around to see who had asked. He saw it had been a guy who looked no older than himself, tall and with dirty blonde hair.

"Thank you," the blonde said and smiled. Next to him stood a slightly shorter, Asian guy who simply nodded as thanks and then took a seat.

"I'm Thomas. This is my friend Teresa," Thomas said and extended his hand towards the blonde sitting down next to him.

"I'm Newt and this is Minho" Newt took his hand and shook it, then waved to Teresa who returned the gesture.

"So, is this your first cruise?" Thomas asked curiously when Minho ordered drinks.

Newt chuckled. "Actually, no. Minho and I used to go all the time when we were kids. But this is the first time we had the chance to go alone. A few other friends of ours are here, too… but I have no idea where they are now. I haven't seen them since check-in," Newt shrugged.

"It's our first time!" Teresa laughed. "We couldn't decide what to do first. I bet it will only be a day or two before you hear an announcement that Tom got lost and needs to be picked up at the playground."

"Hey! That's not fair!" Thomas protested and crossed his arms when Minho and Newt started laughing.

"We can show you around later if you want," Newt offered and smiled again. Thomas thought that Newt's smile was really pretty. When he saw Newt's confused face, he realized he may have stared a bit too long.

"Uh yeah, sure, that would be awesome!" Thomas said awkwardly and gave himself a mental kick in the ass.

Minho got up, his drink in hand and slapped Newt on the shoulder. "We will see you around I guess. Newt knows this ship inside out."

"And I will make sure you don't get lost, Tommy," Newt added with a wink as he got up and followed Minho. Thomas just waved lamely, processing the nickname Newt had just used so naturally. No one had called him Tommy since primary school, but somehow he did not mind.

Teresa nudged him with her elbow. "Looks like someone made a new friend, _Tommy._"

"Oh shut up Teresa," Thomas laughed and hid his face in his cocktail glass.

* * *

><p>"So… Newt was kinda cute, wasn't he?" Teresa asked casually when they strolled along the boulevard on the ship's main deck. Thomas choked on his drink and coughed loudly.<p>

"What?"

"I said, Newt was cute… oh, that rhymes!" Teresa laughed. Thomas glared at her.

"Would you stop that?" Then he decided to ignore her and change the topic. "You feel like getting something to eat? I am starving." Teresa nodded enthusiastically.

"You're not the only one. I could eat a whole cow."

In the end, they settled for a relatively healthy snack from a salad bar, knowing all too well that they would stuff their faces with more than enough unhealthy food in the days to come. The ship was heading along the East Coast of the USA towards Savannah and would reach Florida in a few days. Thomas was excited thinking about it. Key West would be one of the promised highlights of the cruise and neither he nor Teresa had been there before.

Just as Teresa had predicted, most of the passengers on the ship seemed to be either rich young people or seniors who preferred spending their pension on cruising the USA over knitting pullovers and scarves for their grandchildren. A surprisingly big percentage of people on board seemed to be relatively young though.

Later in the evening just before sunset, they got ready to head towards the night club near the bow of the ship. Apparently, Minho and Teresa had agreed to meet up there while Thomas had been talking to Newt. Thomas whistled and gave Teresa a thumbs up when she came out of the bathroom and whirled around to show off her shiny blue dress.

"Don't you want to dress up a little bit?" Teresa asked him and raised her eyebrows at his casual outfits. "It's really hard to get you to ever wear anything but a t-shirt and jeans," she sighed.

"I don't want to steal the show," he laughed. "You look sparkly enough for both of us. I think that will do."

That was fair enough for Teresa and she threw one last look into the mirror, making sure that her long dark hair looked perfect, before leaving the room with Thomas.

The club was packed with people. Most were dancing, many were at the bar and drinking and some were standing on the edges of the dance floor and tried to have conversations despite the loud music. Teresa gestured Thomas to follow her to the bar. She ordered another fancy cocktail for herself and a beer for Thomas. The one cocktail earlier that day had been more than enough 'sugar water' for Thomas as he had complained.

"Hey Tommy, nice to see you again," a voice said close to Thomas' ear and made him jump. Newt laughed and patted him on the back when he saw the startled expression. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. It's so loud in here you can hardly talk without invading someone's personal space."

"Isn't that the whole point of the loud music?" Teresa replied with a mischievous grin.

"Teresa, would you please just-" Thomas started but changed his mind mid-sentence.

Newt just smiled at her and turned to wave at Minho who had just ordered two drinks for them at another bar. He spotted them and walked over, placing two beer bottles on the counter in front of himself and Newt.

"Hey! Nice to see both of you here. Newt swears that this place is, and I quote 'the most amazing night club on any boat in existence'," he grinned, "A boat! He calls this a 'boat'!" Then he turned around to Teresa. "So, you wanna dance?"

"Minho! And you wonder how you always scare away anyone we meet!" Newt gasped and feigned a scandalized expression.

"Oh no, that's alright!" Teresa exclaimed, "I would love to dance!" And with that, she disappeared into the crowd with a grinning Minho on her heels.

"How do you like it here so far?" Newt asked over the sound of some electro dance song. Thomas did not know a lot about music and never kept up with recent artists. Thomas realized that Newt leaned in closer than necessary again.

"Uh, it seems really nice, I guess," was all he could get out. He took a step back to bring some distance between himself and the blonde who either did not seem to notice or just pretended he missed it.

Thomas was always a little wary of people who invaded his personal space. But Newt did not even seem to do it on purpose. Maybe it was just his natural behaviour? He took a sip from his beer bottle and leaned against the counter, watching the crowd dance. Newt did the same, looking back between Thomas and the dance floor.

"Do you like to dance?" Newt finally asked casually and looked at the beer bottle in his own hands.

"No, not really," Thomas replied and could have sworn he saw disappointment on Newt's face just for a split second, "I am, uh, _really_ bad at it," he added lamely.

"I don't believe that!" Newt laughed, "No one is bad at dancing! Dancing is just about having fun," he added and nodded. "Look, Minho and Teresa seem to have fun," he said and pointed at the two when they were visible for a few moments.

"I prefer to stay near the bar on safe territory," Thomas explained. Newt chuckled at that.

"Fair enough." Then he pointed at Thomas' now empty beer bottle. "Do you want another one? Drinks are on me."

"Oh no, no, that's alright," Thomas shook his head, "I can get my own beer."

"No way. It was our idea to come here, so you are our guests."

Before Thomas could object, Newt had already ordered two more beers for them.

"Thank you!" Thomas smiled and they clinked their beers together.

"To us and the best holiday of our lives!" Newt cheered happily.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

I hope you enjoyed the story so far. English is not my first language but I am trying my hardest. c:

This story will eventually have drama, action, romance, horror, fluff, ... yes, it will be a rollercoaster ride.

Please let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

They watched the dancing crowd for some time before Newt leaned closer again.

"It's a bit loud in here. You feel like getting some fresh air?"

Thomas felt Newt's arm casually resting on his shoulder as the blonde boy leaned on him and pointed towards the exit.

"Sure, why not?" Thomas nodded and followed Newt through the crowd.

Outside, they were greeted by fresh air that smelled like salt. It was a welcome change after the stifling heat inside the club. Newt led him to a sun deck at the stern of the ship from where you could watch the white trail of waves the ship left in the ocean like footprints. Newt sighed as he sat down on a lounger near the ship's rail. He looked up at Thomas expectantly and patted the lounger besides him.

"Come on, Tommy. I don't bite," he said matter-of-factly when Thomas hesitated. Thomas still did not know what to think of Newt's behaviour. The nickname and the touching threw him off but he could not say that it really annoyed him. Thomas rolled his eyes in mock annoyance at the remark and dropped onto the lounger next to Newt.

"So you said this was your first time," Newt started and leaned back onto his elbows, "What do you usually do?"

"I study aerospace engineering in New York," Thomas replied and pulled his legs up to sit cross-legged, playing with his now empty beer bottle. Newt whistled appreciatively.

"Nice! That sounds interesting. All I used to do all day is go to a boring boarding school. And now I go to a boring university to study boring economics," he said and made a face. "My parents expect me to take over their company one day."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Thomas cocked his head to one side as he looked at the blonde boy. "What kind of company is that?"

"Oh, some bloody boring stock trading thing," Newt sighed. "I really don't want to do it but it looks like I have no choice."

"You always have a choice," Thomas said seriously. "Never let your family decide what's best for you. It's your life; you should do what makes you happy."

Newt smiled at that.

"Wise words, old man, wise words."

"Hey! How old do you think I am?!"

"Hmmm… I don't know. Maybe twenty-five?" Newt shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

"I am hurt, Newt," Thomas sighed dramatically and clutched his chest. "I just turned 20!"

Newt's eyebrows shot up.

"Really? Me too! I could have sworn you were older than me."

"Yeah, because you got a real baby face, that's why," Thomas snorted.

"You're just jealous. Who wouldn't love to have a pretty baby face like mine," Newt dead-panned.

"I don't know man," Thomas replied dryly, "I am pretty happy with my own face."

"Yes, it is quite nice. It suits you." Newt nodded. Thomas wasn't sure whether the other boy was still joking or not so he just laughed awkwardly.

"Gee, thanks. I am so relieved to hear that you like guys who apparently look like old men."

Newt only flashed one of his oddly heart-warming smiles again. Then he sat up and looked at the black water that surrounded the ship. For a few minutes, the two boys just sat there in silence, shoulders touching and enjoying each other's company.

"So are you going to be a pilot one day?" Newt finally asked, returning to the subject of Thomas' studies.

"Well, I did a few lessons in the flight simulator but that was mostly for fun. I will be the person designing all the fancy new planes of the next decade and hope they don't fall from the sky."

"Still nice though," Newt mused, "I always wanted to fly a plane but my parents are boat fans, so all I learned was how to drive their yacht."

"If you want, you could drop by my university after the holidays and I'll introduce you to one of my friends who is a pilot. I think his parents are quite rich and have a little four-seater plane. I bet he would take you for a flight."

Newt's face lit up like that of a little kid on Christmas morning.

"Are you serious? That would be amazing!" he exclaimed excitedly and jumped up and down on the lounger, making it creak dangerously under their weight. Not even waiting for a reply, Newt got off the lounger and grabbed Thomas' hand to pull him up.

"Hey, what are you-"

"I said I wanted to show you around, didn't I?" Newt explained, still holding onto Thomas' hand. The warm touch sent tingles up Thomas' arm. "Come on, this is the perfect time for it. All the little kids and senior citizens are asleep; we will have most of the ship to ourselves."

Thomas followed Newt but pulled his hand away. If Newt wanted to object, he did not show it. Instead, he went along, chatting about all the amenities of the Mirage and explaining what was the most fun and how to find everything.

The ship was so huge that they would never be able to look at everything in one night. So when Thomas stifled a yawn after an hour of walking around, Newt suggested to relax on one of the huge couches that could be found all over the ship in front of big windows and were perfect to watch the ocean during the day. Thomas grabbed them two cans of soda from a nearby vending machine and they made themselves comfortable on a soft couch, propping their feet up on a little table in front of it.

They kept talking for a long while, chatting about their studies, their families and the pets they used to have as kids. Slowly, Newt seemed to be nodding off, his head falling onto Thomas' shoulder. For a moment, Thomas thought about waking up the other boy and going back to their cabins, but the warm body against his was strangely relaxing. He listened to Newt's even breathing for some time before dozing off himself.

Suddenly, Thomas was torn from his slumber by a loud noise. He jolted awake and saw that Newt was being grabbed by a huge man in a weird protective suit. The man had his arms around Newt and tried to restrain the boy who was yelling and kicking viciously.

"Tommy! Wake up!" Newt yelled, "Let me go! What are you do- "

Newt's last words were muffled by the big man's hand clamping down over Newt's mouth. Thomas jumped up in panic and dove forward to jump onto the man. But before he could even get up completely, two strong arms grabbed him and pulled him back.

"What's going on?! Who are you-" Thomas started screaming before a hand holding a cloth shut him up as well. He struggled as hard as he could but it was no use. His attacker was too strong. He could only watch helplessly as Newt went limp in the other man's arms. A few seconds later, the world began spinning around Thomas. Then everything went pitch black.

* * *

><p>AN:

Things are finally happening!

I hope you don't mind that I made both boys a few years older than in the books.

It felt more appropriate for what's going to come in the next chapters.

Please let me know what you think. c:


	3. Chapter 3

When Thomas woke up, his whole body ached. Hesitantly, he blinked a few times but quickly squeezed his eyes shut again when bright daylight flooded the room he was in. Was it his cabin? Slowly, he sat up and looked around the room. His eyes were adjusting to the light quickly but his head felt strangely clouded. He was indeed in his cabin but he did not remember how he had gotten there. The whole last night was a blur.

Stretching his stiff body, he tried to recall what had happened. He had been at the club with Teresa, Minho and Newt. Where was Teresa now? He looked around the room again, but the other half of the bed next to him was empty and cold. Maybe she had stayed out?

Thomas moved to get out of the bed. He felt like he had spelt for days, not just for hours. He stopped short before he got up all the way. He had fallen asleep on one of the couches out on another deck near the restaurant area. Newt had been there with him…

Then the memories suddenly washed over him.

He remembered the men in strange suits attacking Newt and him. He remembered Newt's angry shouts and his own struggle. Thomas heart beat sped up. Had that been real or a dream? He jumped out of bed, trying not to panic. He was still in the clothes from the night before but he wasted no time getting changed. Cautiously, he opened the cabin door. At least it was not locked.

The corridor outside was quiet. Not a single person was in sight. Why would anyone attack them out of the blue? Thomas did not understand what was going on and he felt his stomach clench at the thought that something could have happened to Teresa. Or Newt.

When he remembered Newt's struggle, he became determined to find him. Maybe Teresa and Minho were with Newt too. They had exchanged cabin numbers the night before so they could drop by each other's rooms. Room number 905. One level up.

At the end of the corridor, Thomas passed a trolley with cleaning utensils and towels. Just to be safe, he took the broom, carrying it like a weapon, ready to strike should the men who attacked them show up again. But the whole level seemed to be deserted.

Thomas strained his ears but could not hear a sound. Where were all the people? It was bright daylight outside, there should be passengers everywhere. Suddenly, he heard a strange metallic clicking sound at the other end of the corridor. Not eager to find out what it was, Thomas rushed around the corner and up the stairs to the level above.

The corridors on that level were empty, too. Thomas did not like that at all. The whole place felt like a ghost ship to him. Clutching the broomstick in his hands, he snuck towards where room number 905 had to be.

When he reached the door with bright letters reading "905" on it, he lifted his hand to knock. For a second, he hesitated but then he heard the clicking sound again. It seemed to be coming closer. Thomas knocked. Once. Twice. No answer.

"Newt? Are you there?" He called through the door just loud enough for someone on the other side to hear him. Still no answer. Thomas tried the handle and the door swung open slowly. Quickly, Thomas jumped inside and closed the door behind him, making sure to snap the lock in place.

It was dark inside, the curtains were drawn close and it took his eyes a few seconds to adjust. Still holding the broom, he slowly walked into the cabin. Then he spotted Newt lying on the bed. Maybe sleeping, maybe unconscious, he could not tell. Thomas dropped the broom which fell to the floor, the sound muffled by the carpet. In a second, he was on the bed, taking a closer look at the blonde. Carefully, he nudged the boy with his hand.

"Newt? Hey, can you hear me?" Thomas shook him a bit harder. Newt was still breathing, he noted relieved. "Newt. Wake up."

Newt groaned and stirred on the bed.

"What… what's going on," came a weak voice. Newt opened his eyes and looked up at Thomas, visibly confused. "Tommy? What are you doing here?" he asked, voice slurred. "What's wrong?"

"Newt, can you remember anything about last night?" Thomas asked, trying to stay as calm as he could. Newt furrowed his brows. Then his eyes widened in shock.

"We were attacked!" Newt jolted up. His hand shot up to his forehead and he grimaced in pain. "Ah, what the hell did they do to us? My head feels like it's going to explode."

"Just stay there and don't move for a minute. It will get better."

Thomas got up and walked to the little kitchen area, getting a glass and a bottle of water out of the fridge. The power seemed to be switched off. He handed the glass to Newt.

"Sorry, it's not cold," he apologized and tried the light switch. Nothing. "No power."

Before either of them could say anything else, they heard the metallic clicking sound Thomas had noticed before. It came from the corridor and seemed to move towards them. Newt opened his mouth to say something but Thomas quickly put his hand over the other boy's mouth, signalling him to stay quiet. When Newt nodded, Thomas took his hand down. They sat completely still and listened to the unnerving noise in front of the door. Click click click. Whirrrrrr. Click click click.

Thomas felt that Newt took his hand and squeezed it. Whatever made the noise was now exactly in front of the door. The sound stopped and Thomas held his breath. He heard Newt do the same next to him.

After a few seconds of silence the thing moved again, down the corridor. Click click click. Whirrrrrr. Both of them waited a few more seconds before they dared to breathe again.

"What the hell was that?" Newt turned to look at Thomas. He noticed the blonde boy was shaking slightly, still squeezing his hand. Thomas shook his head helplessly.

"I have no idea what's going on. The whole ship seems to be deserted. I didn't see a single person on my way here, only heard that weird noise. And I was not too excited about finding out what the hell that is. It doesn't sound too good to me."

Newt took a deep breath and let go of Thomas' hand. Carefully, he got out of the bed, stumbling slightly and holding onto the wall for support.

"What is your plan?" he asked after a moment of hesitation and turned around to look at Thomas.

"Well, uh… I didn't really have a plan. But we can't stay in here. Whoever those people were, they know exactly where they left us and I bet they will be back. I say we take a look around and see if we find Minho and Teresa."

Newt nodded slowly.

"There are two other friends of mine on the ship. We have to look for them, too."

"The more we are, the better," Thomas agreed. Safety in numbers. Maybe with a few more people they could defend themselves against whoever it was that attacked them – at least until they found someone to help them. The crew of the ship and the other passengers had to be _somewhere_.

"Do you have anything we could use as a weapon?" Thomas asked and then pointed towards the broom on the floor. "That's the only thing I found. But I guess it's better than nothing."

"I do have a few golf clubs. I can take one of those. Getting hit in the head by one is no fun," Newt replied and pointed at his temple where a tiny scar was visible.

"Do I want to know?"

Newt shook his head.

"It's better if you don't ask. Let's just say, I will never drink and drive a golf caddy again."

Thomas chuckled and picked up the broom while Newt rummaged through his things to find a suitable golf club. Thomas also took two plastic bottles with water, just in case. As soon as they were outside the cabin, they could hear the clicking noise again, this time above them.

"Whatever it is, it seems to be patrolling the corridors," Newt whispered. "We better go downstairs soon, as far away from the sound as we can." Thomas agreed with that. Sticking close together, they started heading down the corridor, their makeshift weapons clutched tightly.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

The boys are getting some company by a few good old friends.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you think. c:


	4. Chapter 4

Thomas and Newt searched the ship for hours, carefully sneaking around corners and tip-toeing along corridors, always straining their ears for any noise. The Mirage was so big that it felt like they hardly made any progress. They did not come across the men who attacked them but they also found none of their friends. Thomas was getting more and more worried about Teresa.

"Hey Tommy, I think I need a break," Newt suddenly breathed next to him and sunk to the floor. Thomas was at his side in a second.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just feeling a bit dizzy. I will be fine in a minute," Newt tried to calm Thomas down but he looked very pale. Sweat was running down his temples and he was breathing hard.

"Here, have some of the water," Thomas ordered and handed Newt a bottle.

"Thanks," Newt replied weakly and almost emptied the whole bottle in one single sip.

Thomas sat down next to the blonde boy and leaned against the wall, broom stick in his hands and ready to strike. Outside, the sky had darkened. At first, they had thought it was getting late but soon it had become clear that a storm was forming. The ship was now pitching and tossing without pause and the movements were getting worse by the minute.

Suddenly, lighting flashed across the sky, followed by a roll of thunder just a second later.

"Oh great," Newt groaned. He slowly got up from the floor but kept his left hand on the wall to steady himself. "Come on, let's go on. I don't feel very safe here."

Just as the words had left his mouth, a jolt went through the ship, sending Newt face first back to the floor.

"Shit! What was that?!" Thomas yelled and clung to a handrail on the wall.

The ship was tossing from one side to the other violently, sending furniture and decorations flying across the deck. Swearing, Newt was holding his nose. Thomas could see the blood running through his fingers. Thomas dove forward and pushed Newt out of the way and a flying bar stool missed Newt's head by inches.

"Quick! We have to get out of here!" Thomas yelled and grabbed Newt's arm. Staggering and holding onto each other, they ran across the corridor and took cover behind a nearby counter. The ship was now dangerously listing to the starboard side. When Thomas looked out of the big windows, all he could see was the ocean. The sky was hardly visible anymore.

"Newt! The ship! I think it's going to fall over!"

Newt was still breathing hard. Blood ran over his face and he stared out of the windows in shock. The ship slowly turned upright again but not for long. Newt seemed to be frozen on the spot and Thomas shook him.

"We have to get out, Newt! Move!"

He was getting up and was just about to drag Newt along by force when the other boy spoke again.

"I know what we have to do, Tommy. Come on, follow me. We have to get to the bridge!"

With that, they started running again, their weapons still in hand.

"What are you doing?" Thomas called out while running along and dodging furniture left and right.

"The ship is turning and the waves are hitting the side of it. Ships can't handle that, they will capsize sooner or later if they can't be positioned right," Newt answered, panting, "Maybe there's a way to move the rudder. Someone might still be on the bridge!" Thomas doubted that Newt believed that last part, but he did not object.

After fifteen minutes of running, dodging and falling to the floor, they finally reached the staircase to the bridge. Both of them were out of breath and covered in sweat, but Newt did not stop. They ran up the stairs as fast as they could. The door to the bridge stood wide open but everything was dark inside.

"Hello? Is anybody here?" Newt called out and stepped onto the bridge. There was no answer.

"Look at that!" He sounded excited. "Seems like one of the emergency generators is still running!"

He pointed at the computer screens on the bridge that were still glowing faintly. In a second, Newt was in front of them, staring at the writing on them intently. Thomas followed him cautiously and closed the door behind them. The corridor they had come from was still quiet. The ship was still leaning to one side and Thomas got more and more nervous thinking about how easily it could tip over all the way and drown everyone still on board.

While Newt was studying the computer screens, Thomas decided to inspect the bridge. Just as he had expected, it was completely deserted. Everything that wasn't mounted on the walls and desks had fallen to the floor and made a huge mess. But one thing caught Thomas' eye nonetheless: a huge puddle of blood in front of one of the work stations. It was dried already, but there was no mistaking what it was. Thomas whipped around and held up his broom stick but there was no one on the bridge besides them.

Before he could tell Newt about his discovery, the other boy cheered loudly.

"I got it! Come here, look at this!" Newt pointed at the screen in front of him when Thomas came closer. "Here, this is the control for the thrusters down near the keel." He pointed at a row of numbers that meant absolutely nothing to Thomas. "And here, this is the rudder control." He pointed at another screen. "And if I do this," Newt pressed a few buttons, "they should work."

After a second of silence, Thomas heard a low humming sound. Very slowly, the whole ship started to turn. Newt jumped up and walked towards the small joystick in the middle of the bridge that was used for manoeuvring. He stared at the controls, tongue sticking out and brows furrowed. For a moment, Thomas had the ridiculous thought that he looked pretty cute. Then Newt turned towards him and the bloody trail left on his face made Thomas groan.

"You should clean your face," Thomas said lamely and made a general wiping gesture in front of his face. Newt ignored him.

"When I tell you, you have to turn the thrusters off or we will turn around too far."

"Eh, yeah, sure… how do I do that?" Thomas asked, looking at the controls in confusion.

"There's a button in the top right corner, small and orange. It should be flashing right now."

Thomas found the button and nodded.

"Okay got it."

Newt moved the joystick carefully and kept staring at the screens and then out of the windows.

"Okay now!"

Thomas pressed the button and the humming sound stopped. The ship had turned around and was almost upright again.

"Well, that wasn't so hard," Newt joked and walked back towards Thomas, slapping him on the shoulder.

"You look pretty horrible," Thomas said seriously. "Do you feel like you broke the nose?"

Newt shook his head.

"Hurts a bit but not enough to be broken." As if to prove it, he touched the nose gently and winced. "Ah, maybe it's a bit worse than I thought. Oh no, my pretty baby face. Now I will look like a pirate," he declared with a mock sniffle.

"Well, just let me clean that for you at least," Thomas demanded and took hold of Newt's face gently. Newt grimaced but held still as Thomas slowly wiped the blood off with his sleeve.

"Hey, now it doesn't even look that bad," he finally said when the blood was all gone. "Yeah, I don't think it's broken. You're lucky."

"Thanks Tommy," Newt said and absentmindedly touched the side of his face where Thomas' hand had just been. Thomas cleared his throat and felt embarrassing warmth spread across his face. He quickly turned around and decided to show Newt the puddle of dried blood on the floor.

"Well, that is not good. Not good at all," Newt stated and held his golf club a bit closer. "At least the ship should be safe from the waves for now. It will eventually turn back but we can come back here and do the same thing again when that happens. Until then, we should go and see if we can finally find Teresa and Minho. Or _anyone_ else."

Before Thomas could agree, they heard a loud noise just outside the door to the bridge. It was the familiar clicking they had heard in Newt's cabin. Newt stared at the door with wide eyes. Thomas swore under his breath and grabbed Newt's hand, tugging him around the corner and under a big wooden desk. Maps were scattered all around them on the floor but there were a lot more stacked up underneath the desk. Thomas dragged Newt behind the stack of paper so that they were huddled between the back wall of the desk and the maps. They sat there motionless, trying to breathe as slowly as they could.

Click click click. Whirrrrr.

Then a loud thud of something crashing into the closed door.

Another thud. Then they heard the door swing open.

Click click click. Whirrrrr.

The thing, whatever it was, was on the bridge now.

Thomas pressed as far into the back of the desk as he could. Newt had wrapped his arms around Thomas' middle and pressed his face into the side of his neck. He was trembling slightly and Thomas could feel Newt's warm breath on his skin.

Thomas refused to close his eyes. He wanted to know what was following them.

The whirring and clicking sound was now just next to the desk. Then a massive metallic leg came into view. And another. Thomas stared at the thing in front of the desk in disbelief. Something slimy was dripping from the mechanical legs onto the floor. Whatever the thing was, it was moving like a massive spider. It stopped in front of the desk but the stack of paper blocked Thomas' view and he could not see the rest of the thing's body. Thomas held his breath.

Then it slowly started moving again.

Click click click.

Newt still pressed his face against Thomas' neck and held his breath as well.

Click click click.

The sound was moving away from them slowly. It sounded like the thing was moving around the bridge and back towards the door. After the sound had faded away, Newt and Thomas stayed where they were without moving for several minutes. Thomas' heart was racing. What in the world was that thing? He had never heard of giant robotic spiders before.

Suddenly, Thomas became aware of how close Newt still was. The other boy's warm breath tickled the skin on his neck. Thomas gently rested his hand on Newt's back and moved it up and down slowly.

"Hey Newt, it's gone. Whatever it was, it's gone."

"Can we stay here, just for a few more minutes? Please?" Newt asked reluctantly.

"Sure we can."

Thomas ruffled Newt's soft hair with his other hand and leaned back against the desk, trying to calm his racing heart.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Please excuse the big pile of mumbo jumbo about steering a ship. None of that is probably close to how it works. At all. BUT WHO CARES LA LA LA~

I would love any kind of feedback. Please tell me what you think, it would be a great motivation! c:


	5. Chapter 5

Thomas and Newt stayed hidden under the desk for what felt like an eternity, listening for any indication that _the thing_ would come back. But the only thing they could hear was the low creaking of the metal around them as the ship moved with the waves.

"I had an idea," Thomas finally broke the silence, "We should go and check the crew's cabins for any weapons. I bet some of the people who worked here took their little toys with them."

"That's not a bad idea at all," Newt replied and nodded as he moved to crawl out from under the desk. Thomas suddenly missed the comforting warmth of the other boy's body. Careful not to make any noise they snuck off the bridge and down the stairs. Thankfully, there were signs on the wall showing the direction towards the crew quarters.

It was getting darker and darker outside now. Thomas assumed it had to be late afternoon but the sun was not visible through the dark clouds of the storm. Soon, it would be too dark inside the ship to see their own hands before their eyes. Thomas really did not like the thought of being stuck in a pitch black maze of corridors with gigantic robot spiders so he hurried Newt along towards the crew cabins. Suddenly, Newt stopped short and Thomas bumped into him, almost dropping his broom.

"What's-"

"Shhhh," Newt shushed him and pushed him into a dark corridor branching off on their right. Then Thomas heard the voices. At least two people were talking but they were too far away to make out any words. The voices were coming closer.

"It's Teresa!" Thomas whispered a moment later.

"And Minho!"

Just to be safe, Newt and Thomas waited in the dark until they could see two people walk down one of the corridors. It really was Minho and Teresa. Relieved, Thomas pushed past Newt to step in front of their friends.

"Teresa! Minho!"

The other two jumped visibly and looked ready to run until they realized who was standing in front of them.

"Tom!" Teresa cried out and threw herself at Thomas, hugging him tightly. "Oh God, I am so glad you're alright! I was so worried something could have happened to you!"

Newt stepped out of the dark corridor as well and Minho caught him in a bear hug before the blonde could protest.

"Newt, I have never been happier to see you!" Minho laughed. "What happened to your face? Man, you look like shit."

"Thanks a lot, Minho," Newt said as he quickly wriggled free from Minho's embrace. "Just hit my nose on something when the ship started tipping over. It looks worse than it is," he tried to calm down his friend.

"Do you have any idea what happened here?" Thomas asked Teresa and Minho but both of them shook their head.

"We were suddenly attacked by some men in weird protective suits and when we woke up, we were in a cabin at the other end of the ship." Teresa explained. Newt nodded slowly.

"The same thing happened to us."

"But where are all the people? The whole ship is empty!" Minho exclaimed, frustrated.

"There's no use talking about it now," Thomas urged, eager to get out of the corridors as quickly as possible. "There is something on this ship. Some kind of robotic animal… we heard it a few times and once it almost caught us." Teresa's eyes widened at that but she did not interrupt. "Newt and I were going to check the crew cabins for weapons."

"What do you mean, there are 'robotic animals' on this ship? What the hell?" Minho swore under his breath.

"It's best if we don't see them again," Newt said quickly. "Please let's just get out of here as quickly as possible. This place is freaking me out."

No one objected and the four of them made their way down the dark corridors. Newt stayed right at Thomas' side with Teresa and Minho following closely behind.

The crew cabins were just around the next corner and Thomas slowly opened the first door. The room inside was dark and quiet. The four searched the wardrobe and dressers quickly but found no hint of a weapon. What they found instead was a lot of personal items and clothes, turning the ghost ship into even more of a puzzle. Someone had definitely slept in this room shortly before.

The next two cabins were exactly the same. Thomas had just entered the fourth cabin when he heard a low groan from inside. He raised his broomstick quickly, ready to attack. But nothing moved inside the room. It was almost too dark to see anything now.

"Hello?" he whispered hesitantly. Newt, Teresa and Minho stared over his shoulders. Then they heard another groan and something moved on the bed. Carefully, the four of them inched closer and Newt opened the curtains swiftly to let the last bit of daylight into the room. Thomas' heart skipped a beat at the sight in front of him.

A middle aged man was lying on the bed, curled up like a stray dog. He had scratches and cuts all over his face and arms. Bloody patches were visibly through his white clothes. He was breathing hard and held his head as if in pain.

"Who are you?!" Minho demanded angrily and stepped past Thomas, pushing him aside. "What happened here?"

"Minho, stay away from him," Newt said warily and looked down at the man on the bed. "He looks sick."

But Minho ignored his friend and started yelling at the man now.

"Tell us what the hell happened! Where is everyone?!"

The man seemed to notice them only then. He slowly turned his face towards Minho and his eyes darting back and forth between the four. He groaned again as he started to sit up. Thomas watched his every movement and kept his broomstick raised. Newt gripped his golf club tighter.

"You're still alive," the man croaked. His voice sounded as if he had not used it for days.

"No thanks to you," Minho snorted. "Who are you?"

The man seemed to be confused by the question for a second but then his face lit up.

"It's me, Charles," he stated as if that should explain everything. When none of them reacted, he sighed. "Ah damn it, I thought maybe you wouldn't forget everything." Suddenly, he scrunched up his nose and his hand shot up to his head again. "Ah, these damn things are already in my head. Eating, eating, eating," he whispered and seemed to forget he had been talking to Minho.

Minho turned around to Newt and raised his eyebrows but the blonde just shrugged.

"Hey!" Minho snapped after a few seconds and Charles' head shot up.

"Ah yes… you forgot everything. WICKED must have done some good work on you. We hoped you would remember us even after the memory wipe to make the escape easier. This whole ship is a lab. It's not a real ship – and you are not on a cruise. It's also not the year 2014 at all…"

Thomas wanted to protest but Newt squeezed his shoulder and shook his head.

"I want to hear the whole story," he whispered and turned back to Charles. He left his hand on Thomas' arm. Charles looked at them and frowned.

"Okay, seems like you really don't remember. Let me give you a quick history lesson. About a decade ago, sun flares struck the earth and destroyed most of the human civilization and its technology. Shortly after, a really aggressive virus spread, known as the Flare. An organization known as WICKED started researching to find a cure. But they never succeeded. This," he motioned at the room around them, "is just another laboratory. And you are the rats. Most of the things you saw and heard when you first got here were just in your heads. WICKED still got some pretty neat tech hidden away," he trailed off and looked out of the window for a long moment.

No one said anything. Thomas could not believe his ears. The guy had to be insane.

"Some people inside WICKED disagreed with their methods, me included," Charles continued eventually. "We trained you guys while you were at the headquarters, preparing you for a mission that WICKED knew nothing about. They thought all training would be for this experiment. Then we came on board with you to use the chance and flee from here. But apparently there was a group of stowaways, infected with the Flare. They attacked us. To keep you safe, we put you into artificial sleep for a week in specially protected cabins. We managed to kill the stowaways but we were only 20 people… I was the only one who survived. The computer must have shut down today and that's why you woke up... I can feel the Flare now. It's crawling through my head like bugs eating my brain," he groaned again.

"Shit. If what he says is true, we're all going to be sick like him!" Minho shouted and backed away from the bed.

"No no no!" Charles moaned. The sound reminded Thomas of a poltergeist in a haunted house. "You should be immune. I think that's the whole point of you being WICKED's lab rats. But I will be nothing more than a rabid animal soon. Maybe I will have a few more days of sanity left. Maybe. No one will come to help me. There is no cure. No matter what lies WICKED tells you, _there is no cure_. I wonder why they haven't picked you up from here yet. The only reason I can think of is that they are having trouble at the headquarters."

Then Charles' head snapped up, a haunted look on his face. He got up and stumbled towards his wardrobe. Thomas kept the end of his broomstick trained on him. This had to be some kind of nightmare. Nothing this man said made any sense at all. Newt's hand tightened on his arm. Thomas could hear Newt's uneven breathing but he did not dare to look his way.

Charles rummaged through the drawers, his hands shaking. Then he pulled out something black and shiny between the rumpled clothes. Newt swore loudly but before either of them could even react, Charles lifted the gun to his own temple and pulled the trigger.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

I'm sorry, there isn't a whole lot of Thomas and Newt action in this chapter. I promise some fluff for the next chapter though!


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